A reported attack on two undersea cables linking Europe to the Middle East is a “wake-up call” about the growing dangers caused by hybrid warfare, experts say. Internet access in parts of Asia and the Middle East was disrupted after underground Microsoft cables in the Red Sea were cut on Saturday, the tech firm said. NetBlocks, which monitors internet access, said “a series of subsea cable outages in the Red Sea [had] degraded internet connectivity in multiple countries” including India and Pakistan.
The cause of the disruption has not been confirmed, but experts have warned that it could be linked to Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are waging a campaign against Israel to end its war on Hamas in Gaza. Microsoft said the incident had not impacted traffic based outside the region, but authoritative industry voices said it demonstrated “how crucial [undersea cables] are and how unprotected we’ve let them become”.
“Although the cause of this damage to cables has yet to be confirmed, the fact it took place in the Red Sea, where concerns around Houthi rebels targeting cables existed before this event, is telling,” Verineia Codrean, an expert in undersea infrastructure and Chief Strategy Officer at underwater drone company Euroatlas, told the Express.
“More and more, undersea cable attacks could become the norm unless more is done by countries to protect themselves,” she added. “In the case of this attack, the result is slower internet in Asia and the Middle East but future attacks could have more catastrophic outcomes.”
Ms Codrean warned that the cables “carry 99% of our internet traffic” and can be severely damaged “by a ship simply dragging its anchor along the seabed”. “In this regard, Europe and the UK should be especially worried,” she said. “Shallower water in the region makes it easier for cables to be targeted and Russia especially has taken notice. UK defence secretary John Healey has warned that Russian vessels have been caught mapping the UK’s infrastructure.”
“These are not minor inconveniences. A serious attack by a hostile state on the UK’s undersea cables could leave us without internet access or access to our banks and ATMs. It could massively disrupt our financial system and the city of London. It could disable GPS services relied on for everything from Google Maps to emergency and defence services. It could disrupt supply chains and leave supermarket shelves bare.”
Ben Harris, partner at Avella Security and former Special Forces and Royal Marine Commando, also warned that the latest cable-cutting incident was “a wake-up call about the vulnerabilities built into the foundations of our connected world”.
“These cables are not just pipes carrying internet traffic; they are the digital arteries of the global economy,” he explained. “A large proportion of traffic is funnelled through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a narrow and geopolitically unstable stretch of ocean. Disruptions here can ripple through economies and digital ecosystems far beyond the immediate region.”
“The lesson is clear: resilience must be built into these systems through better monitoring, faster repair and stronger protection. Otherwise, incidents like this will become not the exception, but the norm.”